Recently, Walgreen (WAG) announced that it has developed a series of innovative programs to fight diabetes in the US. At the 2011 Joslin Diabetes Roundtable in Boston, the company made a presentation showcasing the guidelines for preventing diabetes in a cost-effective way.
Walgreen has a long-standing relationship with Joslin. Earlier in 2006, they jointly announced a sweeping Alliance to improve health outcomes for people suffering from diabetes. With diabetes being one of the severe health issues faced by the US presently, Walgreen with over 8,500 points of care expects the approach to provide patients access to programs and help prevent and manage the disease.
Walgreen is the largest US retail pharmacy chain in terms of revenue and profitability. As of May 31, 2011, the company operated 8,171 stores in 50 states, including the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. There are other 360 Take Care clinics that are operated within Walgreen locations.
Over the past several years, Walgreen has been taking a number of steps to align its assets with core strategies. These encompass several recent acquisitions including the take over of online retailer drugstore.com. Through this deal, Walgreen will gain a strong foothold in the online arena as it will be able to access more than 3 million online customers.
Moreover, we are also encouraged by Walgreen’s recent step to sale its Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) business Walgreens Health Initiatives (WHI) to Catalyst Health (CHSI). By divesting its non-core assets, Walgreen will be able to better focus on its 7,700 drug stores.
Presently, we remain ’Neutral’ on Walgreen, which also corresponds to the company’s Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) in the short term.
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WALGREEN CO (WAG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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